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Pokémon Red and Blue Versions
Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Verison are the first two games in the ''Pokémon'' series to be released outside of Japan, available in North America in 1998. Unlike the games in the later generations, Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version are not the same as their Japanese release. Japan had gotten their first set of games as Pokémon Red and Green Versions. Plot A young boy from the town of Pallet Town begins his journey as a Pokémon Trainer. While venturing into tall grass, a voice from Professor Oak, a researcher of Pokémon, who brings him to his lab. The boy meets Oak's grandson and his rival to be the Pokémon Champion. After selecting his starter Pokémon, the new trainer heads from city to city inside a region known as Kanto to earn badges to compete at the Indigo Plateau. Throughout his journey, the boy meets a criminal organization, known as Team Rocket, that abuses Pokémon to earn a profit. They devise numerous plans to steal rare Pokémon, which the boy must foil for the safety of the Pokémon. Gameplay The games are split into three different screens: an overworld screen, a battle screen and a series of menu screens. When traversing the overworld, the games are played from a third-person overhead perspective, where the trainer is to be guided throughout cities and into battles to earn his badges. When the trainer enters a battle, the perspective changes to a side view, where the Pokémon Trainer's Pokémon are placed on the bottom left with a status bar to their right and the opponent Pokémon on the top right with a status bar to their left. In order to win a battle, the trainer's Pokémon must defeat the opponent's by reducing their health to zero. Any Pokémon involved in the battle earn experience. As certain Pokémon reach certain levels, they enter an evolution state, where their appearance changes and they learn new moves. To get more Pokémon other than the chosen starter, the trainer's Pokémon must reduce a wild Pokémon to low health and proceed to use a Poké Ball. Once successfully captured, the data is added to a Pokémon encyclopedia known as the Pokédex. In order to get a fully completed Pokédex, players must use a link cable to trade Pokémon with a player of the opposite game, as certain Pokémon are exclusive to either Pokémon Red or Pokémon Blue. Pokémon Introduced in Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue are 150 Pokémon, including the Legendary Pokémon Mewtwo and the mascot of the entire series, Pikachu. Reception The games received mostly positive reviews from critics, holding an aggregate score of 89% on GameRankings. Especial praise was given to its multiplayer features: the ability to trade and battle Pokémon with one another. Craig Harris of IGN gave the games a "masterful" 10 out of 10, noting that "Even if you finish the quest, you still might not have all the Pokémon in the game. The challenge to catch 'em all is truly the game's biggest draw." He also commented on the popularity of the game, especially among children, describing it as a "craze." GameSpot's Peter Bartholow, who gave the games a "great" 8.8 out of 10, cited the graphics and audio as somewhat primitive but stated that these were the games' only drawbacks. He praised the titles' replay value due to their customization and variety, and commented upon their universal appeal: "Under its cuddly exterior, Pokémon is a serious and unique RPG with lots of depth and excellent multiplayer extensions. As an RPG, the game is accessible enough for newcomers to the genre to enjoy, but it will entertain hard-core fans as well. It's easily one of the best Game Boy games to date." The games had become one of the top franchises of Nintendo, along side the Mario series and Zelda series. Spawning many sequel games as well as spin-offs, the games would continue to introduce new Pokémon to the series. The game had also earned in its own anime series, which introduces new characters as well as a named protagonist. The anime would later be made into its own version of the Pokémon series, known as Pokémon Yellow. Category:Games released on the Game Boy Category:Games that are rated E Category:Games released in 1998 Category:Games by Game Freak